Delayed neurological deterioration due to progressive pneumocephalus

Abstract

Pneumocephalus can develop immediately following head trauma or clinical presentation may be delayed for days. We report a case of 35 year male whose initial CT scan brain plain small specks of pneumocephalus in left para-sellar region. However the next day he was complaining of severe headache and had multiple episodes of vomiting. Repeat CT scan showed increase in the size of pneumocephalus including appearance of intraventricular air with mild cerebral edema. The patient recovered well with conservative management. The present case is a gentle reminder that in a subgroup of head injury patients, intracranial air can produce significant mass effect leading to tension pneumocephalus which can can behave like other intracranial mass lesions and causes worsening of the neurological status of these patients.

Keywords

• Pneumocephalus
• traumatic pneumocephalus
• traumatic brain injury
• basal skull fracture